The nozzle check came back perfect. All ten channels, every dot.
It took forty-five minutes. During the update, Arthur’s cat stepped on the power strip. The printer went dark. Arthur’s soul left his body. But by some miracle, the P9000 had a dual-boot firmware backup. It recovered. When the light turned steady green, Arthur exhaled. epson photo printer software
In Epson Print Layout, he found "Color Management" > "ICC Profile." He selected the new profile. Rendering intent: Perceptual. Black point compensation: On. He printed again. The nozzle check came back perfect
He discovered the second ghost: His editing software, Capture One, was already applying an ICC profile. Then EPL was applying another one on top. He had to turn off color management in Capture One and let EPL do it. Or vice versa. He chose EPL. He printed a third time. During the update, Arthur’s cat stepped on the power strip
He learned that the P9000 had a "secret menu." Power off. Hold the "Cancel" and "Power" buttons for seven seconds. The screen blinked. A new option: "Service Mode." He reset the waste ink counter. He lied to the printer. He told it the box was new. The printer believed him.
A week of perfect prints followed. Then, a band. A thin, hairline white stripe across every print.